After 5 years, finally added more power!

The battery I built back in 2018 served me well for tooling around town.  I did notice that when the 500w geared front hub motor was in load, the battery charge indicator would drop down to 3 of 5 bars even if the battery was on a full charge.  I also noticed the motor struggling to get me up a hill, cutting out if I was in PAS 4 or 5 and/or not up to speed already.  If already going pretty good and on a relatively flat stretch,  I could use PAS 4 or 5 without any issues.  

I suspected this all was due to an undersized battery situation.  

I looked on AliExpress for another 32v battery I could add to the bike to increase the power and range.  Prices have really come down over the past 5 years and I was able to find a reasonably priced option from a suggested supplier (BT-Battery Power Store) from @MicahToll from Ebikeschool.com.  For $138 I picked up the 32v 14ah beauty pictured below.   I also purchased a double battery discharge balance connector for $39 (Sunway Cycle Store) to allow me to connect both batteries.  I went this route vs. just wiring them up in parallel since the connector also load balances between the batteries as they discharge to deliver maximum power.  With both connected the bike is much peppier, my screen showing 5 of 5 on the charge indicator and up to 935 watts when fully charged and throttle wide open.  

 

 

For mounting all of this on the bike, I decided to add a rear rack bag for $43 (Rockbros).  This allowed me to house the battery and also move the controller and wires.  I still have a small area in the front for my cable lock and phone too!  

Here is the finished product.  I think it looks much cleaner with the addition of the rear bag.  It took a bit of getting used to swinging my leg over the bag as I get on and off the bike, but not a big deal since I'm 6' 2" tall.  With this modification I'm easily able to get the bike up to 30 mph on a flat stretch.  In general, I tend to stay between 15-20mph on a regular cruise.  I'm able to easily get 20 miles before the battery shows 1 of 5 bars on load and the watts drop to below 750.  At that point, I need to do more peddle assisting but I don't mind it as I am usually heading home.   

Total cost for the build $862 ($356 initial buy, $292 battery I built, $214 new from this post).  Over the past 5 years I have enjoyed riding the bike and am planning to use it more now that it has more power and range!

Pedal Assist is the BOMB!

I finally got around to installing the pedal assist on my ebike about a week ago.  I had been using the throttle only mode so far this season.  I had put about 30 miles total on the bike at that point but.. boy what a difference it makes for me!

The first serious ride I took with the PAS installed I did over 18 miles with no problems.  For my setup (light aluminum bike, "smallish" Lio 36v 10ah battery, 250 lbs rider) the PAS system is much easier than the throttle.   With the PAS system set on level 1 (eco) or level 2 (std) it delivers about 200-300 watts to help me along as I peddle.  This is very helpful for hill climbing and overall speed on the straight flat paths too.

When I was using the throttle, there were times I could hold it in just the right position to keep the power assisting but more often that not, my thumb would go down a bit too much and the motor would cut out (jerk if pushed down) or just cut out if throttle was lifted up on.  It became hard to pedal and hold my thumb in the "sweet spot".

Now with the PAS, it does the work for me.  Having on the low setting keeps the watts at the right level to allow for smooth support by the motor.  If I move the PAS level to 4 or 5, it will work for a short time but will soon start to do the jerking again.  I suspect that could go away if I added more battery but then I would be adding more weight too.  So for now, I'm going to keep riding as is.

A trip range of between 15 - 20 miles is just perfect for what I am using it for!

If your kit came with a PAS system and you were waiting to install it, I suggest you do it today!

Finished!

Here is how it looks with the new battery installed. 

Snow on ground - package arrives Wed!

My battery will be 36v 10s3p 10.5 ah 30v when complete.  Ordered the whole thing from Vruzend.  Will shoot some video of the build of the battery.  I am figuring to get about 15-20 mile range.

Bigger Battery

36v 10s3p 10ah

Ordered needed parts from Vruzend last night for this bad boy.  Will be nice to have a proper sized battery!

Here is the detail on my order from Vruzend.

Order details

Product	Total
Set of two (2) LG MJ1 3500 mAh 18650 battery cells × 16	$159.84
VRUZEND battery kit V1.5 × 1	$27.99
5.5 mm nut driver × 1	$2.99
36V 10s Battery Management System (BMS) × 1	$29.99
36V Lithium-ion battery charger (3 Amps) × 1	$31.99
5.5 x 2.1 mm female connector (for charging) × 1	$1.99
XT60 connectors with 14AWG silicone wire leads × 1	$1.99
High quality 16 AWG Black Silicone Wire (1 ft) × 1	$0.59
Polyimide (Kapton) heat resistant tape × 1	$5.99
Large diameter battery heat shrink (1ft) × 1	$2.99

Ready to RIDE!

Needed to send back my seat shock I ordered (needed 27cm version not the 31cm version) and will need a gel seat but then I should be good to go.  After I get a chance to take it on longer trips, I will report back on how she performs!

Second ride - 5 miles

Here is some video from my second ride.  This time I did the video shooting, riding and working the throttle.  I was able to get up to about 20 MPH on a flat stretch.  It also was helpful climbing the hills around the neighborhood too.  When I started I had about 3/4 of the battery left.  Was down to 1 bar when I got back home.